Photographer's Note

A česnica (derived from the noun čest, meaning "share"), is the ceremonial, round loaf of bread that is an indispensable part of Christmas dinner in Serbian tradition. The preparation of this bread may be accompanied by various rules and rituals. A coin is often put into the dough during the kneading; other small objects may also be inserted. At the beginning of Christmas dinner, the česnica is rotated three times counterclockwise, before being broken among the family members. The person who finds the coin in his piece of the bread will supposedly be exceptionally lucky in the coming year. The česnica was used in folk magic for divining or influencing the amount of crops.

In Vojvodina česnica is not a kind of bread, but a pastry made of layers of filo filled with roughly chopped nuts and raisins, similar to baklava, but drier and is usually made exclusively with added honey. A coin is placed at some point between the layers.

This is a photo from my mother's house, today, at Christmas (česnica does not break, it was cut into pieces)